The invention generally relates to knitting, and particularly to that form of knitting wherein looped yarn is gathered along a connector extending from the lower end of one needle, or interconnecting the lower ends of two needles, such as used in a circular knitting procedure.
In knitting certain patterns for clothing, and for a variety of knitted craftwork, the looped yarn slides down the needle and is received along a cord or string attached to the end of the needle. When knitting circular garments, such as the sleeves of a sweater, the other end of the cord is similarly affixed to a second knitting needle. Thus, upon completing the necessary width of material the final two stitches may be interengaged forming the enclosing shape.
In certain craftwork, a cord depending from only one knitting needle is utilized and the opposite end of the cord has a stopper rather than being affixed to a second needle.
Some earlier devices were constructed integrally with an intermediate loop whereby the needles were not removable. However, use of plastic nylon flexible interconnecting means have allowed the detachment of one or both needles, so that the needles can be disconnected and used individually. Nylon and other plastic connectors are presently used for attachment of hollow tubes between two knitting needles. The constant irritation to craftspeople in utilizing these connected tubes is that they tend to become disengaged during knitting procedures. This is probably caused by the rotation and twisting movement of the user while looping the yarn and forming the stitches.
The present invention is therefore directed to providing an interchangeable knitting needle system wherein needles are provided with free ends formed in a conventional manner, and terminating at the opposite ends in a unique engageable construction. The engageable ends are securely connectible to tube adaptors, which can firmly engage the ends of interconnecting tubes. A unique locking means at mating portions of the adaptors and needle ends securely hold them together when needed but can be disengaged at the discretion of the user. An additional feature of the invention is the provision for stringing a plurality of tubes together by the utilization of a double-ended connector having a locking structure as found at the ends of the needles, but provided at opposite connector ends to enable the linking of one tube to another between a pair of needles. A stop button is also provided and is formed with a similar locking means whereby a single needle may be connected to one end of a tube, while the other end of the tube is engaged to the stop button by means of an adaptor. The stop button is preferably disc-shaped and of a sufficient diameter to prevent accumulated stitches from sliding off the tube.
It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide an interengageable knitting needle system whereby tubes may interconnect needles in a locked, but selectively disengageable, fashion during use.
It is another goal of the invention to provide adaptors capable of engaging flexible plastic tubes and having means for releasably locking to engageable ends of the knitting needles.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a stop button having a unique locking means capable of securement at the end of a tube by means of an adaptor secured therein, whereby a first knitting needle is connected at the opposite end of the tube for storage of stitched yarn therealong, and a second needle has both ends free.
It is further an object of the invention to provide a knitting needle having a conventional pointed tip at a end of a central shaft and, at the opposite end, a tapered locking end which reduces to a diameter substantially the same as the body of an adaptor, whereby stitches may slide down the central shaft of the knitting needle, over the tapered end and adaptor, to be collected along a connector tube.
It is accordingly a concomitant goal of the invention to utilize thin tubes of a diameter substantially less than the central shaft of the knitting needle to accommodate very tightly drawn stitches.
It is another object of the invention to provide a tube adaptor having a body and a thread-engageable counterbore opening at an end face thereof, wherein said end face includes spaced-apart radial seats capable of receiving bosses located on the end face of a needle, or at end faces of double-ended connectors, whereby said bosses and seats engage to effectively prevent unintended rotational disengagement of the adaptor to the abutted engaging member.